Healthy result for export figures

A recovery in exports to China has helped Tasmania post some of its healthiest monthly trade figures in the past year.

Tasmania exported $70 million worth of goods to China in February, a $6 million increase on the previous month.

But that is below a peak of $91 million in January last year.

Premier Lara Giddings says the result has been driven by increasing demand from China and India.

"We see so many opportunities, not just in the food and agricultural sector, but other sectors like mining and indeed if we can restructure our forestry sector, we see a future for forestry too," she said.

"That's why we're trying to focus on looking at the Asian region with a particular focus on China."

Exports to Japan have fallen from an average of about $50 million a month last decade, to just $17 million in February.

Ms Giddings believes Japan will resume higher levels of Tasmanian imports if a deal between industry and environmental groups to reduce native forest logging is successful.

"They have said to us you must modernise your forest industry, we want to see advancements like what's being proposed under the forest agreement before they start to buy our wood product again."

The Bureau of Statistics figures show Tasmania's total international exports for the past 12 months were valued at just over $3 billion.

Free trade is the oldest argument in federal politics and the issue that literally defined the federation era but opposition exists to the TPP, courtesy of the Investor-State Dispute Resolutions clause.